While Laura showered, Remington discarded the towel, opting instead for his robe while he unpacked his suitcase. On top were the items Laura had modeled for him at Harrod's in London. A smile crept over his face, even while his brow still furrowed, at the memory of her playing dress-up for him. Of course, the memory did nothing to diminish his current needs so he lay the pretty parcels on Laura's side of the bed for her to see.
Next, he pulled out the envelopes containing his important discoveries of the previous day in London and placed them beside his suitcase, becoming lost in thought as he finished unpacking. Faint echoes from the distant past, hopes for the future, and the undulating landscape of the present, even the slight irritation of his current predicament, combined together as they had never done before, forming a colorful and cohesive mosaic of his life.
He'd hardly noticed the sound of the shower cease and looked up in surprise when Laura emerged from the bathroom, her robe tightly tied at her waist. He had been so wrapped up in thought he had forgotten his ire with Laura and began to greet her cheerfully, "Laura! There y..."
"Don't..." Laura cut him off as she swept past him, trailing a fresh clean scent behind her.
"But Laura, I..."
"Look, we have company coming and we have some business to conduct before that. While you shower I'll have Mickeline arrange tea for us in the Gallery," she concluded and turned on her heel to finish unpacking her own afore abandoned bag.
Remington looked at her back, slightly perplexed, but amused at her having so abruptly and steadfastly assumed her business-like demeanor. He dropped his hands, which had been frozen in mid-gesture and, leveling an affectionate gaze at Laura's retreating form, said, "I only wanted to say; It's good to be home." Then he turned, plucking the towel from the chair, and disappeared into the bathroom.
Laura froze and swung around with a look of genuine surprise on her face, her mouth pursing in a relenting smile. Her eyebrows rose anew when she heard the sound of Remington's whistling percolating through the bathroom door.
Remington was showered and shaved quickly and attired himself in dress pants, an elegant button-down shirt, and navy blazer. He considered a tie, but decided against it, thinking to himself, Patty and his family will not stand on ceremony, surely!
Within minutes he appeared in the Gallery, the envelopes in hand. Laura stood near the tall windows, sipping her tea from cup and saucer. Remington stood back for a moment to admire the alluring picture she presented. With her hair swept off her neck in a loose bun, she had donned the impeccable black pencil skirt and white cashmere sweater top they had purchased at Harrod's and had added her own fitted pink blouse under the sweater to compliment the outfit. From below the skirt, the sheen of her calf-hugging stockings gracefully tapered down to her delicate ankles that teetered appealingly over the thin heel of the slingbacks she favored, much to his great appreciation.
Right from the very start, he had been captivated by the unique puzzle Laura presented. Like a dusty lump of coal under pressure, she emerged from her trials in life shining brighter than any prize he had ever pursued.
Feeling his eyes on her, Laura turned and flashed him a brilliant smile. "Good morning, Mr. Steele!" She approached the shamrock tea service that had been arranged on a handsome buffet that stood against the wall and poured Remington a cup. As she handed it to him, she eyed the envelopes he was slipping into his blazer pocket.
"Is this what you had to show me?" She asked casually, freshening her own cup.
"Uh, yes, but first..." He accepted the tea and slowly walked, Laura following expectantly in his wake, around to a settee that was positioned in the middle of the room, an ornate coffee table ahead of it. He was about to continue when he noticed Laura standing frozen, looking at him with some apprehension. "Aren't you going to sit down?"
"Oh! Certainly!" Laura sat down and tried to appear relaxed as they sipped their tea for a spell.
Finally, Remington began, "Laura, I realize that despite our outrageously fulfilling reunion last evening..." he laughed quietly as a bit of color rose to his face, and interjected, "...Ever since we crossed that line, I can't seem to resist you,..." his gaze darted toward Laura briefly before he continued, "...but I must know...Did you really think I would leave you?"
Laura pondered for a moment, finished her tea, setting it on the table, and finally said, "I didn't want to believe it, but there was always a kernel of doubt ready to explode to twice it's size if things got heated... I think what scared me more was how upset I was in your absence..." she shook her head and gestured towards him with a backswipe of her hand, struggling to find the words, "...AT your absence... When you were gone, I felt lost..." She dropped her head for a moment, then continued with renewed energy. "I want to be my own person, regardless of our relationship. Whether it be passionate or tenuous, I still need to hold things together, to carry on being me I need to know there is still ME in US." Laura looked up at Remington when he did not answer right away. His eyes had glazed over at her speech.
"Well, say something!" Laura beseeched Remington, for whom an answer had still remained elusive.
Finally, after a twitch of his eyebrow and a quirk of his lips, he replied, "Would you settle for me in you?"
Laura was puzzled, "You in m...? Oh, you! I thought you seriously wanted to know, but you insist on countering with flip remarks and adolescent passes!" She stood abruptly, glaring at him and fisting her hands. Another moment and she would have walked away, but Remington clasped her hands in his and pulled her back down to sit beside him.
"Lau-raa...I was kidding...Of course, I want to know. Otherwise, I wouldn't have asked."
He held her hands in his, rubbing his thumb across her knuckles and continued, "Look, Laura, I don't pretend to understand the intricate workings of your brain, but I do know that when I returned, you were still here, and these letters," he said patting his breast pocket, "are just as much for you as they are for me."
Laura's raised her eyebrows, her curiosity piqued, "What do you mean?"
"The first letter is from Daniel and thankfully confirms for us that he had no hidden agenda in bequeathing me the vast property on Wimpole Street. It appears he was sincere in his intention to have me establish a foundation for orphaned boys and to use that magnificent building in London to house said foundation. He had already set into motion establishing a well-healed board of directors with the help of Katherine Galt who, as you might imagine, is very well connected."
Laura automatically focused on the logistics of the particulars of the foundation. "She would be an ideal ambassador for the cause, having witnessed firsthand her husband's grief over his long-lost son..."
"Yes, and not only that, Mr. Taylor will make sure that everything going into the foundation is legal..." Remington answered, and added, speaking very quickly now, "...But the material point here is that..."
Laura's hand shot out to grasp his arm, "You mean he knows about the gems we found?!"
Remington looked at her with puzzlement, "Who? Oh, Mr. Taylor! Oh yes, I met with him again. He's quite the character, Mr. Taylor is. I have implicit faith in him. He and Daniel were cut from the same cloth it appears...But Laura, what I'm trying to tell you is that..."
Laura interrupted him again, "Really!? I didn't get that impression from him. He seemed so well established and..."
Remington, exasperated with Laura's evasion, placed his hands on her arms so as to get her full attention.
"What I'm trying to say is, this letter from Daniel confirms that there is no threat through me and my inheritance, to you or to the agency." Remington was looking at Laura, his blue eyes unmistakably sincere.
Laura's armor faltered slightly under his keen gaze, but she recovered immediately and said, "Is that why you left without telling me? You were worried you posed a threat to me? I can take care of myself you know. I always have."
"Yes, well, as I have pointed out to you before, that was before I came into your life and your well-being became a personal vocation of mine."
Laura took a stuttered breath, alarmed at the way his words inspired both irritation and affection somewhere deep within her. She almost betrayed the latter with a slight flutter of her eyelashes, but quashed it deftly, her eyebrows furrowing as she glanced away to maintain her composure. She took in a measured breath and was about to unleash the former with sharp words when there was a knock at the door and Mickeline entered, "I apologize for interrupting but it's just 10:30 and everything is ready for your guests to arrive," he informed them.
Concealing his irritation, Remington replied, "We'll need a few more minutes, Mickeline. When Paddy and his family arrive, show them to the…" Remington stopped, realizing he had no idea where they were serving brunch.
Mickeline jumped in to clarify, "We've set everything up in one of the suites. But sir..."
"Very well, Mickeline, my good man. Mrs. Steele and I will be along shortly." Remington said and turned back to Laura. Mickeline took a breath as if to say something, but thought better of it and left the room.
"Now, where were we...Ah yes,...I have something else to show you..."
Remington drew the second envelope from his blazer pocket and fingered it as he said thoughtfully, "I never expected this...any of this...but this letter… This letter made me realize how important words can be. If I had never seen this, if this had been lost, I never would have known…."
His voice trailed off and, without another word, he handed the envelope to Laura. She took it, holding her breath and, seeing that the paper was yellowed and fragile, she opened it carefully, pulling out the letter inside. She lay the envelope down before unfolding it and, discovering the photograph inside, gingerly held it by a corner between her thumb and middle finger. She scrutinized the image, her heart melting at the pretty young mother whose arms were lovingly curled around her swollen belly. Laura turned it over and read the caption, her breath catching when she saw the word "Acushla".
Laura, hungry for more information, gently lay the photograph atop the envelope and proceeded to read the letter that accompanied it, her eyes tracking hastily back and forth across the page.
When she finished, she looked up to see Remington staring at her, eager for her reaction. It was all there, in the prismatic clarity of his blue eyes, the knowledge that his beginnings were not that of an unwanted pregnancy...that he had had his mother's love...that he had been destined to have a family until Fate played its merciless hand. With his cheery disposition, he likely felt that finding these precious words from his Mother and Father almost made up for not having had his own family.
In a moment of blinding insight, Laura understood his hesitation to open up to her during their long and protracted courtship. If one could even call it that she thought privately. But that cynical thought was immediately trampled by a great white beast of a thought; that his hesitation of all those years had been a testament to his profound and sincere love and respect for her.
Remington saw the moment of her enlightenment and their eyes locked with new understanding, and they reached for each other in an embrace, not unlike two people reunited who had been cruelly separated for decades.
"She loved me!" Remington's voice was muffled as he buried his face in Laura's shoulder. "...My mother...she loved me and she loved Daniel...She wanted us to be together...a real family, Laura! She had hope for the future...for all of us!"
Laura held him tightly and rubbed his back with her free hand, the other still holding the letter. She closed her eyes as she felt him shudder, finally banishing all the tension of the last few years and more, from his system. All the artifice, all the airs, all the disappointment at his failed attempts to discover his origins trickled away, dispersing into nothingness.
But no! Laura thought to herself and pulled from the embrace, even as Remington clung to her, reluctant to let her go. She quickly laid down the letter and leaned forward, pressing her lips to Remington's forehead as she reached for his head with her hands, stroking and smoothing his ebony crown as she said,
"I loved you either way, Rem. You must know that!"
"I do. I do now, but I was always afraid I might lose you."
"Hey, I married you! It wasn't easy, but it all worked out. And I agreed to marry you again, regardless of your history! Those words," Laura looked at the letter and back at Remington, " incredible and precious as they are, change nothing! I've loved you for a very long time."
This got Remington's attention, and he looked at Laura, his lashes sparkling with tears. Laura's hands had now come to rest in the vicinity of his jawline, her thumbs stroking his cheeks, while she leveled an exasperated but affectionate look at him, her own eyes threatening to tear up. Remington shook his head in her hands and placed one hand atop one of hers and the other wove up between her arms to cup her neck possessively, "In a million years, Laura...I could not have come up with someone quite like you. I count my lucky stars every night that I have you beside me. I always have, but especially now..." He then captured her lips with his for a heart-pounding kiss, leaving them both breathless when they finally separated.
They looked at each other, mutually awed by all that had come to pass. When he began to smile, she smiled back at him, drawing a toothier grin from him, then laughter. He pecked at her lips again with unfettered joy, then suddenly sat back and exclaimed, looking at his watch, "Perhaps we should go. Paddy and his wife and family might be here any moment!" Laura had swiped the kerchief from his pocket and was dabbing at the dampness around his eyes. When she had folded and replaced it in his pocket, he reached for the letters to stow them back in his blazer and Laura picked up the picture again to look at it. "She was beautiful!" she exclaimed, her tone bittersweet, then stated with mild surprise, looking back and forth between the photograph and Remington, "You look like her! Although I don't know why that surprises me since you certainly didn't take after Daniel."
Remington took the picture, arranging it inside his Mother's folded letter, saying. "Well, maybe not in the looks department, but in other ways. He was clever, quick-witted, agile, charming -" Remington listed off several inherited traits as he tucked the envelopes back in inside breast pocket, his grin widening with each descriptor as he stroked his jaw. Laura's smile faded the more he spoke and, folding her arms and rolling her eyes, she cut in sternly, "Would you kindly skip the inventory? We have a small shire's worth of your long lost extended family waiting to greet you and they are likely very hungry. This is hardly the time to preen!"
Remington frowned and shrugged good-naturedly at Laura's chastisement and, adjusting his collar and sleeves, started towards the door, "Coming Mrs. Steele?"
But Laura pulled him back by the arm to stand before her. She made a show of brushing off his shoulders as he looked at her in bewilderment and, slipping her fingers under the lapels of his blazer and drawing them slowly down, added in a sultry tone, "However, I'd like to have a closer look at said inventory in the privacy of our chambers...preening accepted and appreciated." She concluded with a pretty pout, suppressing a smirk, and knowing nod.
Remington pursed his lips into a small o, and replied in a velvet tone, "Oo, absolutely, Mrs. Steele." He leaned in to kiss her but froze, his eyebrow's arched, "Wait, long-lost EXTENDED family? I thought it was only Paddy and his immediate family?" Remington asked looking alarmed.
Laura looked up uncomfortably and raised her eyebrows in an oops-forgot-to-tell-you-that look, and mumbled something like, "Well, that number may have grown from there..." sidestepping Remington and walking around him toward the door. Over her shoulder, Laura tossed airily, "This is YOUR family also, Mr. Steele. And it seems that Paddy made sure this is a family gathering you will never forget."
Remington spun around in time to see Laura's heel disappear behind the door, and he hastened to catch up with her. "Lau-raaaaa…," he called after her. "Did you forget to tell me something?!" Laura's indignation met his pique head-on as they continued their little spat, "Well, what did you expect?! We've been rather...BUSY with...things...!" Through the door, the muffled sound of their receding voices could be heard clattering around the walls of the vast hallways of the old Castle.